1. Field of the Present Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic tape, a data recording method and a data recording apparatus using the magnetic tape.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A digital audio tape recorder (DAT) of rotary head type is used not only as a recording and reproducing apparatus of audio signals for its primary purpose, but also, for example, as an external storage for a host computer.
A magnetic tape used in a digital audio tape recorder has an end indentifying part consisting of transparent and non-magnetic material at an end position of the magnetic tape. The digital audio tape recorder records sequentially data sent from the host computer onto the magnetic tape, and when the end identifying part has been detected by, for example, a photo-interrupter, the digital audio tape recorder sends a signal notifying that the end position has been detected to the host computer. When receiving the signal, the host computer performs such a process as terminating the sending of data.
The digital audio tape recorder used as an external storage for a host computer in this way has a built-in buffer memory consisting of a large amount of semiconductor memory. Data sent from the host computer is temporarily stored in this buffer memory and data outputted from this buffer memory is recorded on the magnetic tape. Therefore, when the end position of the magnetic tape has been detected as abovementioned, a large amount of data may remain in the buffer memory even though the magnetic tape has already little area left to be recorded on. In such a case, the data in the buffer memory cannot be recorded on the magnetic tape and the data left in the buffer memory has to be sent back to the host computer. This results in increasing the work load of the host computer.